Honey

The day that Elsie asked to have her little girl brought to her bedside was a day that Honey would never forget. It was indelibly imprinted in her little mind. Her papa took her by the hand and led her into the bedroom; he put his arm around her and lifted her up onto the bed next to her mama. “What’s wrong Mama? Your eyes look so funny.” Though Honey was not quite five years of age, she could sense something was wrong. Elsie gave a slight smile and said in a weak voice, “I’m going to go away, Honey, and I want you to be a good girl and mind your papa.” Honey nodded her head in agreement. Then her mama said to her papa, “I want you to put my diamonds in a safe deposit box and give them to her when she’s sixteen.” Papa agreed. Honey didn’t understand then what all this meant. She was to learn that later. She scurried off the bed and back to her play in the back yard. One day, not too long after that, as she was playing with her dolls and toys in the backyard, she looked up and saw a lot of people gathering in the house and yard. What’s happening? She thought maybe Mama and Papa were having a party. What else could bring all these people and all those cars? Then she heard her papa calling her. He met her as she came around the corner of the kitchen and swooped her up in his arms. “What Papa?” she asked. “Honey, I want you to come and say bye-bye to your mama; she’s going away. As he spoke he lifted her above a huge box, all shiny and ruffled and pretty. Mama looked so pretty lying there among all those ruffles, sleeping. “Your mama is going away, and you won’t see her again,” he told her. “No!” Honey screamed. “I don’t want her to go away!” She cried and wriggled out of his arms to her feet. She started running to get away—she didn’t know where, but she wanted to get away. She didn’t like what was happening. She began to run around the boxwood hedge that lined the front yard. People were trying to catch her, but she didn’t want them to touch her. She kept running and crying and sobbing. “No! No!” She felt that she was losing part of herself, and she wanted to get away from that thought. Finally one of her papa’s brothers, Uncle Bill, picked her up and hugged her to him and she sobbed on his shoulder as he patted her to console her. She was never to forget the sight of the men carrying the big box, taking her mama away from her. The rest of the day held nothing for her. It was a long time before another trauma made that big of an impression on her. The days that passed brought many strange ladies to the house to be housekeepers and to care for Honey and Ralph. There were all different types of women. But one day Papa came home with a large buxom woman who was very attractive and much taller than Papa. Honey was playing with some miniature doll furniture that her brother Bill’s father-in-law had made for her. He was an invalid in a wheel chair, and this was a hobby of his. Everyone loved Honey and wanted to do nice things for her. He took great pleasure in making these miniature things for her. Honey loved them. She heard her papa call to her, but she didn’t obey him immediately, and soon he came and took her by the hand and led her to the living room where the woman was sitting. Who is this woman, Honey thought. Is she another housekeeper? “Honey, this is the lady that’s going to take care of you. Her name is Esther.” “I want my mama to take care of me, where is she?” Honey cried. “She’s not coming back, so I will take care of you, and you must mind me,” the woman said. Honey wasn’t sure if she was going to like this woman. She ran out to the backyard under the big tree to play with her toys again. Soon after, this woman brought home a pretty, little girl about one and half years old with long, blonde, curly hair. Papa said she was just big enough to come under the dining room table when she stood up. She was very pretty and shy. Honey was glad to have someone to play with, and she liked her. Her name was Elaine. Papa began to take Esther out. Soon she came back with a beautiful, fur coat and another time, new jewelry, and so on. One day when they returned home, he said, “Honey, she’s going to be your new mama.” Honey learned later that he had married the big woman. “Now you will have to call me Mother and not Esther anymore.” Honey had always heard her papa call her Esther, and Ralph called her Esther. That was her name as far as she knew. “But you’re not my mama, and I can’t call you Mama.” “We’ll see,” she retorted.